Quest for the Moon Orb: Orbs of Rathira (44 page)

“So would I,” Karma agreed.

“In the meantime, we should begin to work on our vows,” Zakiel said. 

“Our vows?” Karma asked.  “Isn’t there a set ceremony?”

“Yes, there is,” Zakiel said as he sat up and reached for his pants.  “But the promises we make to each other must be our own.”

Karma thought about that as she watched Zakiel pull his pants on and tie the laces, then sit down to put his boots back on.  She decided that she liked the idea of deciding what they would and would not promise to each other. 

“Come on,
valia
,” Zakiel said, offering her his hand.  “I know that you need to get your rest tonight.”

Karma nodded as she accepted his hand and stood up.  She wished she didn’t have to leave yet, but he was right.  She needed to get as much sleep as possible.  Tomorrow was going to be a very dangerous day.

Chapter
22

“Are you ready?” Zakiel asked.

“As ready as I’ll ever be, I suppose,” Karma replied as she stood gazing out over the sea.  She’d gotten little sleep the night before, which made her nervous when she thought about how much energy it could take for her to accomplish the day’s task.  She hoped she had enough.

“Rosia has offered us the use of her smallest boat, several strong rowers, and a guide.  The other boats will await our signal that it is safe before making way.”

“Did Rosia offer any ideas on how to attract Sobek to us?”

“Yes, she did,” Zakiel replied.  “She said that sound draws him, and gave us a dozen noise makers.”

“Where is Kapia?” Karma asked.

“She is aboard the first boat,” he said.  “Sir Bredon is with her and charged with her safety.”

“Thank you,” she replied, relieved.

“You need not thank me,” Zakiel said.  “I love her, too.”

“I know you do,” Karma said.  “I didn’t mean to imply otherwise.  I just worry a lot about those I care for.”

“Yet another thing that I love about you,” he said softly.  The sound of his voice made her shiver, which caused him to frown in concern.  “Are you warm enough?”

“Thanks to Rosia, yes, I am,” she replied.  “This wool is heavy, but after the heat of the desert, I’m sure that it’s going to be especially cold for us out on the water.  I’m so glad Rosia thought of it as I did not.”

“I wonder if Kapia will be cold,” Zakiel worried as he looked toward the ship he knew his sister would be on.

“Don’t worry,” Karma said.  “Rosia loaned her some warm clothing as well.  I think we will both be fine.”

“I should have known better than to think you would forget Kapia,” Zakiel said.

Karma smiled up at him as they turned onto the short dock.  Zakiel offered her his arm as she climbed into the boat and even though she didn’t really need it, she took it anyway. 

How warm his hands are,
she thought. 
He is so strong!

“
Oh, puh-leeeze,
” Nikura said. 

“Be quiet naughty kitty, and stop listening to thoughts that aren’t addressed to you,”
Karma said.

“What is a
kitty
?”
Nikura asked suspiciously.

“A baby cat,”
Karma replied. 
“You know, one who doesn’t have enough manners to at least pretend he’s not listening when he shouldn’t be.  I’ve heard that some people put sticks in the mouths of the really naughty ones and use them as dust mops.”

Nikura looked up at her with narrowed eyes, then stalked off to the other side of the deck and sat down with his back to her, his tail sweeping back and forth across the deck behind him.  Karma rolled her eyes and walked to the front of the boat. 

She saw a wooden crate piled with dark, reddish brown balls the size of her fist, each with a bit of cord sticking out of it.  She frowned at them, wondering what they were, until the obvious answer came to her.

“These are the
noise makers
?” she asked, reaching for one.  It was fairly light, made of hardened clay, and when she shook it gently she felt the contents shift.

“Yes,” Zakiel said.  “Once the wick is lighted, the object is thrown as far as possible from the boat, and it explodes.  The idea is that Sobek will be attracted by the explosions and rise from beneath them, which will be at least some distance from the boat.”

Karma contemplated the box of crude hand grenades and the brazier of coals a safe distance away, then looked around to be sure none of Rosia’s people were within hearing range.  She inched a bit closer to Zakiel and spoke in a very soft voice.

“I’m troubled that they have such a specific method of calling this creature,” she said.  “It speaks of experience rather than novelty.”

“Yes,” Zakiel replied, his voice equally soft.  “I asked if there was a particular place that would be best for us to make our attempt, and she said that our guide would take us to it.”

“So they engage in regular sacrifices to this thing,” Karma said with a grimace of disgust.  “I wonder if that explains why there are so few females among the Chya.  That makes me want to kill it, if for no reason other than to spare future sacrifices.”

“You made a promise,
valia
,” Zakiel said.  “I don’t think it would be a good idea to break it.”

“Neither do I,” Karma replied.  “I won’t kill it, not deliberately anyway.” 

“Perhaps, once we are finished with our journey, we will find it necessary to dispose of the creature on our return.”

Karma shrugged one shoulder, but did not reply.

“You don’t agree,” Zakiel noted.

“As you pointed out, I made a promise,” Karma said.  “Planning to break it when it is most convenient for me may not bode well for the future.  It is not good
karma
.  We still have two more orbs to find after this one, and I expect we’ll need whatever help we can get.”

 “You are correct, of course,” Zakiel said with a sigh.  “We must leave these people to their own beliefs and practices.”

While they’d been talking, the men had been rowing the boat out toward the deeps known as the Wide with more speed than Karma had expected.  The boat they were on was small and light, which allowed it to nearly skim the surface with ten rowers at the oars. 

“We are almost to the calling point,” their guide warned them. 

 “Who will handle the noise makers?” Karma asked.

“I will, Lady Techu,” the man said.

“Let me get out of your way then,” Karma said.  She nodded at the man, then walked over to where Nikura sat.

“I apologize for calling you a naughty kitty, Nikura” she said.  “It was unkind of me, no matter how provoked.”

“Dust mops.  Humph,”
Nikura said, though he stopped swishing his tail and wrapped it around his feet.

Karma turned away from Nikura and found a spot near the railing that gave her a good view of the sea in front of the boat.  Then she closed her eyes and took a deep breath to calm herself.  She felt the boat slow, then stop at the guide’s order before she opened her eyes. 

She watched as the guide reached for the first grenade and removed the top from the brazier.  He used a thin, green stick to light the wick, then drew his arm back and threw it in one fast, smooth motion.  The ball exploded a good fifty yards from the boat, just before it hit the water.  As soon as it exploded, she sent a trickle of energy into the Ti-Ank, glad that she had enough control now to prepare this far in advance.  Once the creature appeared, she would need only to increase the energy.  She watched as their Chya guide threw several more grenades before she  began moving slowly toward the front of the boat again, her eyes on the water.

“It’s coming now,”
Nikura said, surprising her. 

“How long?” she asked, glancing down to see the Sphin in his usual spot beside her.

“A few moments only,”
he said. 
“Tell the guide to move after he throws this next one so that you can take his place.”

Karma did as Nikura said and the guide nodded before lighting the last grenade and throwing it.  As soon as it left his hand he bent down to replace the cover on the brazier, then moved out of the bow of the boat.

Karma took his place, her eyes on the water, barely noticing that Zakiel was beside her, both swords drawn. 

“Increase the energy,”
Nikura said.  Karma immediately responded, increasing the flow of energy into the staff until it was glowing brightly. 

Suddenly, not thirty yards from the boat, the sea erupted in a geyser of water with the enormous, gray-green crocodilian head of Sobek at its center.  The monster roared as it continued to shoot skyward out of the water. 

Karma refused to allow her shock at the size of the thing to rattle her.  Instead, she poured all of her gathered energy into the ankh, then directed it all at Sobek.  The golden beam engulfed the creature as it continued to rise, and Karma reached deeper, pulled harder, straining with all she had to push the beast into the deepest sleep possible. 

Karma was beginning to suspect that every time she used the Ti-Ank in this manner, when she stretched herself to the limits of her ability, her overall strength and power increased.  She knew she was much better at drawing the energy from within herself so that it could be magnified by the ankh, because she’d practiced and worked at it.  But with experience came strength, and her strength was well on its way to becoming formidable.

Because of that, Sobek was sound asleep before his mighty leap out of the water was complete.  Almost at once gravity took over and pulled his gigantic body back into the water with a splash that, without the expertise of the captain, would have swamped their small boat.  Karma continued to push as hard as she could at the creature until it sank out of sight.  Only then did she release the energy and allow the glow to fade.

“Did you kill it?” the guide asked, fear in his voice.

Karma looked down at Nikura, who closed his eyes for a moment before answering.

“It is sleeping,”
he said.
  “Hopefully it will remain that way for several hours, but I doubt it will last much longer than that.  I would suggest moving as quickly as possible.”

“It’s asleep,” Karma told the guide.  “We have half a day, maybe less.  No time must be wasted.”

The guide nodded in relief, then reached for his horn to signal the other boats.  Karma looked for a place to sit down and not finding one, she chose to simply sit where she stood.  While her power and strength had increased, using the Ti-Ank was still draining.  The more energy she had to use, the longer it took for her to recover.

“Karma?” Zakiel asked her, kneeling down beside her with a worried look on his face.

“I didn’t pass out this time, so that’s something,” Karma said with a wan smile.  “I need to rest is all.”

“As soon as we move to the other ship you can lay down and sleep,” he said.

“No,” Karma objected.  “I think I need to keep an eye open for Sobek.  If he awakens early, I will need to put him back to sleep.”

“Do you think it’s likely?” Zakiel asked.

“It’s possible,” Karma said.  “I know I’ll feel better watching for it than not.”

“Then we shall watch for it,” Zakiel said. 

They didn’t have to wait too long for the boats carrying their people and diplos to catch up to them.  Zakiel, Karma, and Nikura boarded the final boat, much to the surprise of the rest of the Hunters.  Zakiel had to order them to remain where they were, since they all wanted to move to their boat so they could guard him and Lady Techu. 

“We have a fair wind,” Zakiel said.  “Rowing might take us across faster than the wind though.”

“I think it would be better to use the wind as much as possible since it’s quieter,” Karma said.  “We should ask everyone on all of the boats to be as quiet as possible.  Sobek is attracted to sound, so let’s not wake him up if we can help it.”

Zakiel nodded, then left to pass the word.  Within minutes all six boats were under full sail, each boat staying as close as possible to the others without interfering with each other. 

“Nikura, will you know ahead of time if Sobek awakens and comes after us?” Karma asked.

“I hope so,”
Nikura replied
.  “I heard it before as it approached.  It is reasonable to conclude that I would hear it again, particularly if it is angry.”

“Thank you, Nikura,” she said softly, reaching down with one hand to stroke the Sphin’s ears.  “I am grateful for your help, regardless of my teasing.”

Nikura purred, his eyes closing to slits as he enjoyed the ear rub.  After a few moments, Karma stepped away and lowered herself to the deck, then leaned against the side of the boat.  “I’m going to rest now in case I need to put that thing to sleep again.  If I fall asleep Nikura, please don’t let me sleep more than two hours, all right?”

“
Certainly,”
Nikura agreed. 

 Karma sat back and closed her eyes, falling asleep before she knew it